LAKELAND, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-0, on Tuesday at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium, finishing 13-12 in Grapefruit League play, with four ties.
The Tigers return to Detroit on Tuesday night before Thursday’s Opening Day against the Cleveland Indians at Comerica Park. Left-hander Matthew Boyd is the scheduled starting pitcher.
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What happened
Three significant right-handers — Casey Mize, Michael Fulmer and Matt Manning — pitched most of the seven-inning contest. Mize started and tossed into the fifth inning. He got two outs before Fulmer entered out of the bullpen for a one-out job. Manning took over in the sixth inning and struggled with his command. On offense, the Tigers were held scoreless on four hits and no walks. They struck out five times.
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Starting off
Mize allowed two runs on five hits and one walk in 4⅔ innings. The former No. 1 overall pick got six strikeouts. Of his 58 pitches, he chucked an unbelievable 43 strikes. Mize continues to pound the strike zone more and more with each outing. He earned nine swings-and-misses on three sliders, two sinkers, three four-seam fastballs and one curveball. His fastball averaged 95.2 mph and maxed out at 97.4 mph.
At the plate
The Tigers got four hits, one each from Jonathan Schoop, Niko Goodrum, Grayson Greiner and Victor Reyes. Spencer Torkelson, the No. 1 overall pick in 2020, flied out to the left-center warning track in his lone at-bat. He played 20 games in big-league spring training, finishing 1-for-26 (.038) with four walks and 16 strikeouts. Torkelson is the No. 4 prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.
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On the mound
When Fulmer took over for Mize in the fifth, he inherited two runners in scoring position with two outs. Recently moved to the bullpen, Fulmer issued consecutive hits — a double and a single — before striking out Mike Brosseau in an 0-2 count. His fastball reached 96 mph. Manning gave up two runs on one hit and two walks in the sixth inning, allowing the Rays to take a 5-0 lead. He logged a strikeout looking with a 94 mph four-seam fastball to work out of the jam. Right-hander Drew Hutchison worked a perfect seventh inning.
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Three stars
1. Mize, 2. Goodrum, 3. Greiner.
Next up
Opening Day: Thursday against Cleveland Indians in Detroit
Evan Petzold is a sports reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.